Our Department

English Language and Literature

Following either the traditional literature track or the professional communication track, our 300 English majors have a variety of career options upon graduation. Many of our recent graduates have pursued advanced degrees in English, law, history, communications, comparative literatures, and foreign languages. Our graduate students have been accepted into prestigious universities and have gone on to teach in colleges and universities across the country. A large number of our graduates also teach middle school and high school English in public and private schools or pursue careers in education administration. Our English majors are not, however, restricted to employment in the academic arena. In fact, a majority of our graduates choose nonacademic professions and enjoy rewarding employment in business and the public sector. Professional communication students, immediately after graduation, often begin interesting jobs in television, journalism, public relations, advertising, technical writing, publishing, or the nonprofit sector. Our students' career choices attest to the diversity of an English degree.

Most students, however, probably don't major in English to prepare for a specific career. They major in English in order to live a richer life, a life filled with ideas, art, lively discussion, cultural vibrancy. They major in English because they love to read and because they love to write. They major in English to open horizons.

Students majoring in other academic disciplines, but desirous of benefitting from English language and literature courses may choose among several minors, including literature, communication, film, linguistics, and writing.

Foreign Language

As the importance of relations between the United States and foreign countries increases, knowledge of foreign languages, literature, and cultures is essential to participate fully in the globalization of political, social, and commercial life. The knowledge of foreign languages, literature, and cultural heritages provides a unique means for bridging the gap between cultures and offers many practical advantages necessary to communicate and compete in the 21st century.

Taking foreign language courses prepares students for exciting international opportunities in a variety of careers including publishing and journalism, commerce and industry, business management, social services, education, law and medicine. Armstrong offers foreign language courses in Spanish, and French.

While learning a foreign language at Armstrong, students are assured of receiving individual attention in a friendly, comfortable atmosphere as they expand their horizons and prepare for a productive future. Moreover, students attain their language degrees under the direction of faculty members who are active scholars and who share a common vision.

Philosophy

Philosophy is committed to the Socratic motto that "the unexamined life is not worth living". To examine life in more depth than what appears on the surface, to search for Truth, is the goal which drives philosophy forward. The pursuit of wisdom begins with questions. Using the principles of Reason, philosophy seeks to resolve the questions that have occupied man's mind since the beginning of time, as well as the questions we have created along the way. These are questions concerning metaphysics, religion, ethics, aesthetics, society, perceptions and the very nature of reality. Answers to these questions are interconnected, and many answers are possible, each with different implications about their practical application in the real world. Moreover, the persistent pursuit of these questions reveals a constellation of other questions. This, in turn, leads to reflection on the scope, methods, and limits of human knowledge, which also raise questions about the nature of thought and language that make up the disciplines of logic, semantics, and linguistic analysis. Philosophy, accordingly, may be thought of as the exploration of this web of questions.

Armstrong offers a wide range of philosophy courses from the introductory to upper-levels, from ancient philosophy to postmodernism, and students from any discipline are welcome to take these courses and pursue a minor in philosophy.